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Dolphins drink from cup again

Bryce Alderton

The Mariners Christian boys third- and fourth-grade soccer team found

itself in the throes of familiarity once again on the final day of

the Daily Pilot Cup.

A year older and more experienced, the Dolphins picked up where

many left off last spring, with a championship trophy.

Timmy Root tallied a hat trick and Mariners Christian broke open a

one-goal lead at halftime to defeat Adams, 6-1, Sunday in the gold

division title game at the Farm Sports Complex.

Afterward players huddled together in celebration, parents took

photographs and Coach Phil Miller reflected on a day that started

with a 5-3 victory over Harbor Day in the semifinals.

“It’s not me, it’s the kids,” Miller said. “They are a strong

bunch of kids who love to play together. They did incredible things.”

The same could be said on the opposite sideline for Adams, in only

its second year in the Pilot Cup boys 3-4 age bracket after reaching

the quarterfinals last year.

Coach Bob Knapp and assistant Carlos Barrios Sr. assembled a team

of 22 because the group wanted to play together instead of splitting

into two squads.

Referees told Knapp at halftime he had to get all his players into

the game at some point in the final 30 minutes.

“If I had known the rule, I would have started [substituting] in

the first half instead of the second,” Knapp said. “The best team won

today. [The Dolphins] had a lot of speed and won every free ball.

They played an aggressive game.”

Daniel Toberty, Jack McBean and Conner Cooper each scored one goal

for Mariners Christian while Carlos Barrios Jr. tallied Adams’ goal

on a penalty kick.

Barrios’ goal tied the game, 1-1, in the 17th minute and both

teams, for the most part, finished the half battling in the midfield.

That is, until Toberty controlled a throw-in along the sideline

and scurried to about 10 yards out before sending a looping shot

above the outstretched arms of Adams’ goalkeeper Alex Transcoso for a

2-1 Dolphins’ lead in the 24th minute.

The Dolphins’ four second-half goals came against the wind, but

that hardly held back a relentless counterattack.

“In the second half I told them not to [hit] long balls against

the wind because it was so unpredictable, but to make shorter, easy

passes,” Miller said. “They took it to heart.”

Mariners Christian fired 25 shots on an Adams goal guarded by Alex

Transcoso in the first half and Rene Oando in the final 30 minutes.

Oando stopped six of 14 second-half shots, but the Dolphins had

too many second- and third-chance attempts.

Three of the four Mariners Christian goals in the second half came

off a rebound of a missed shot.

Jack McBean gave Mariners Christian a 3-1 edge in the 35th minute

when he controlled a rebound off the far post and went left side of

the net.

Two minutes later, McBean’s blast from the left side sent Oando

diving to his left to deflect the ball, but Root, standing two feet

away, knocked in the rebound for his second of three strikes.

Adams, however, didn’t let up.

Guillermo Madrigal’s free kick five minutes later sparked Adams’

best scoring chance of the second half.

The kick sent Mariners Christian goalkeeper Luke Langdon in front

of the right post, where he reached up with both hands to knock

Madrigal’s shot off the crossbar.

With Langdon temporarily out of position, the ball rolled out

toward the middle of the six-yard box, but Mariners Christian sweeper

Greg Allen alertly slid to stop an ensuing shot and Langdon retreated

in time to deflect another blast with his right arm.

“[Allen] has been an anchor on defense throughout the tournament,”

Miller said.

Adams got off two shots in the final 17 minutes while Mariners

Christian sealed its fate as champions.

Connor Cooper’s third shot in succession found the back of the net

for a 5-1 lead in the 55th minute after Adams’ sweeper Max Hume

stopped the first two attempts.

Root burst around the defense three minutes later on a 2-on-2

attack and went right side to cap the scoring.

“In the second half we didn’t have the same speed in the

backfield,” Knapp said. “[The Dolphins’] skills showed on the through

balls. They had a lot of speed and took good shots.”

“We have skilled forwards,” Allen said. “[Miller] gave us a good

pep talk at halftime, so we were pumped up.”

Ian Baugh, Connor Cruse, Derek Dellinger, Steven Miller, Daniel

Gills, Chris Sheppard and Brent Lawson all contributed for Mariners

Christian.

Derek Andrews, Mike Bandoli, Baggio Dominguez, John Escobar, Eric

Gonzalez, Daniel Herrera, Jacob Knapp, Jose Calderon-Lopez, Javier

Medina, Jared Payzant, Bryan Ruiz, Ezekiel Vilegas, Richard Velasquez

and Maurice Watkins all helped lead Adams to the division final.

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